Bulgaria Loses Billions Annually Due to Delayed Schengen Membership, Warns Economy Minister
Bulgaria stands to lose approximately BGN 1 billion each year due to its continued exclusion from full membership in the Schengen area
As Bulgaria’s Schengen accession was once again postponed, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov once again reiterated the country’s technical readiness to enter Europe’s border-free area.
Bulgaria is guarding EU’s borders way better than countries that are already in Schengen, Borisov pointed out for all that have not heard him make the same point on previous occasions.
Of course, Borisov believes that the sole reason Bulgaria is not in Schengen is the tiny PVV party that “tantalizes the whole European Council.”
The Bulgarian PM apparently thinks that the country’s issues with corruption and organized crime are topics separate from Schengen and that the xenophobic (no sarcasm used here) party of Geert Wilders is the only obstacle remaining on Bulgaria’s way to join Schengen.
The problem with Borisov’s stance is that Bulgaria’s European partners might suspect that the government does not understand what the task is. Here is what he could have said in order to sound a bit more convincing:
“We have a very strong political will to fight corruption and organized crime and prove to everyone that we are worthy of joining Schengen.”
Who knows, maybe someone would believe him and include it in the upcoming Co-operation and Verification Mechanism Report that will really decide Bulgaria’s Schengen fate. Needless to say, Bulgaria’s Schengen membership per se is not more important that its progress in combating corruption and organized crime and improving its judicial system.
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